METHOD

Pre-heat oven to 150C. Roast almonds and chop finely. Cream butter and vanilla sugar then add 2 to 3 Tbsp icing sugar and mix until creamy white. Fold in approx half of the sifted flours, a couple of tablespoons of each at a time. Add almonds and a dash of Brandy. Then keep adding flours, Tablespoon at a time, until you feel the mixture is ready to work with. You may not need all of the flours, you just want to add to your mixture until it's not too sticky to be handled. When you've acheived this shape your mixture into crescents.

Put kourambiethes on a tray lined with baking paper and push a clove into each one. Bake until kourambiethes are slightly golden at the edges, approx 35mins, but watch them carefully. Take them out of the oven and brush them with a little rose water while they are hot. Dust them with icing sugar after they have cooled.